Unpleasantville - Part 1

Dear Diary,

Is any of this worth it?

Am I actually making a difference in this world?

I know, logically, that I am. If I wasn't here, then Zach and Lexi would be dead, Lee would be off in Georgia mourning the death of his true love, and Caroline would have had the horrible pleasure of being Damon's blood bag/sex slave.

Still...it doesn't feel good. Being here right now. Knowing that I am making a difference, but everyone blaming me for it.

It's been days since the fallout at the Salvatore boarding house. Zach, Lexi, and Lee have taken to sleeping over in my room at night because none of them want to return to the boarding house. From what I overheard from Lexi's and Lee's conversations, Stefan understands why they're doing it. There's too much drama surrounding the place right now. Elena went home that night and Damon has apparently thrown himself into his search to find Emily's grimoire and a way into the tomb. He doesn't believe me about Katherine. He told me I was lying. For the greater good, I do lie to him. But I'm not lying about this and it frustrates me that he doesn't realize it.

I've barely slept in days. I'm too high-strung. Damon has access to my house. He can come and go as he pleases and because he's a vampire, he can be deadly quiet while he does it. I don't fear for my life; I fear for Kelly's. Kelly is an innocent in all of this, but would Damon stoop so low as to hurt her to get back at me?

The optimistic part of me, the one that is friends with Damon, tells me no. That Damon who is friends with me, the Damon who calls me Mama Bear and other stupid nicknames just to see a smile on my face, would never dare to hurt me that way. That he just feels betrayed but he'll be fine in a couple of days.

The realist part of me, the one that has seen the entire TV show, in addition to The Originals, and Legacies, says yes. Yes, Damon would stoop that low. He's hurt, he's going to lash out.

Speaking of Damon, I haven't seen him since that night. I don't know if that should reassure me or make me worry more. I also haven't seen Stefan or Elena. They stay on their side of Mystic Falls and I stay on mine.

I think the only times I've left the house has been to go to school and to Carol Lockwood's house with Caroline. It was actually really fun, probably the most enjoyable thing I got to do since the boarding house incident. Caroline managed to find a gorgeous black dress with yellow flowers in the swing style (aka poofy skirts. I like me some poofy skirts). It matched well with a yellow cardigan of hers and she already has a hairstyle picked out. I was having a really hard time trying to come up with a costume when Carol just went to the back of one of the chests and pulled out the most exquisite thing I think I've ever seen in my entire life (and I have seen all the TVD men without their shirts on).

It was a velvet, rich, royal blue full-circle swing dress (aka when you twist and turn, the dress flutters. I also like me a dress that flutters). It was off-the-shoulder, a little riskier than I normally like, but I couldn't say no. Carol mentioned that it had a Bardot style neckline (something I unfortunately know the definition of since I was raised wearing Gucci and not off-brands) and that it "radiates vintage glamour with the classical angled sleeves and the bateau straight back neckline". Pish-posh, it was freaking hot. It also had a matching thick belt that went around the middle. We stan matching accessories (it hurts my soul that no one here uses that lingo). Kelly even scrounged up some black gloves I could wear with the dress, and a black petticoat that she liked to keep for special occasions.

Kelly thinks we should just curl my hair and pin it out of my face. Keep it down for once. I guess I agree with her. I'm not the master when it comes to hairstyles, so I leave it to an expert.

Speaking of experts, Noble did drop by at night. How the hell he managed to sneak past Zach, Lee, and Lexi to end up sitting on the side of my bed, I will never know. He kindly informed me that he had heard everything from the night of the adoption reveal. He had kept on the outside (as he had not been invited in), and he had wanted to lure Damon outside so he could maim him and stake him himself for what he said to me. He admitted that he refrained from doing so since Damon had been the one to call him when I had been kidnapped by Logan; I am supposed to tell Damon the next time I see him that he no longer has brownie points with Noble and should he do something stupid again, Noble will kill him.

I can't really blame Noble for wanting to kill Damon. I also can't really blame Damon either, though. I understand, in a sad way that he is right to be angry and frustrated and upset and betrayed. Why hadn't I mentioned Katherine to him earlier? Why do I believe she's not in the tomb? What if my presence in this world changed events just enough that Katherine is in the tomb?

Kelly's waking up. I got to wake up the sleeping vampires so they can speed out before I have to explain to my adopted mother why there are three full-ass adults sleeping inside of my bedroom with me (on the floor while I'm on the bed, but still!). Guess I'll write with you later.

Stefan took a moment to observe Damon. It was rare to find anyone else but Zach inside of the library, and it felt weird that Zach wasn't in there and his older brother was instead. Damon was sitting at the desk in the far end, scratching words down onto the piece of paper in front of him with a vengeance. There was a frustrated grimace on his face. It didn't look as though grimoire hunting was going so well. Stefan took a second to give him one more look before approaching him, his hands clasping his father's journal behind his back as he walked.

Damon barely glanced up from his work, snorting when he saw Stefan's hair. Stefan had been halfway through getting ready for the Decade's Dance that night when his brilliant idea struck, so he had rushed to find his dad's journal to give it to Damon. "You got the hair right."

Stefan reached the desk and pulled the journal out from behind his back, tossing it forward so it landed right on top of Damon's list. Damon pulled away from the desk and looked distastefully at Stefan, a frown on his face. He asked, "Why are you bringing me Dad's journal?"

"Cause you were looking for it," Stefan replied matter-of-factly.

Damon gave the journal a look before poking it with the pen in his hand. "And why would I want it?"

"Gee, I don't know, Damon," Stefan huffed, putting as much sarcasm as he could muster into his words. "Maybe you wanna do a little bit of posthumous bonding. Go ahead." He gestured towards the journal. "Enjoy it. Read it. I have." Stefan frowned. "Nowhere in it does it say anything about Katherine, or the tomb, or how to open it."

Damon looked up at Stefan and while maintaining eye contact, fished the journal from Stefan's side of the desk. He unwrapped the journal and began to tenderly flip through pages, being mindful of their age. If there was one thing that didn't age well in comparison to vampires, it was books. "I'm not surprised. Man could barely spell his own name. I'll just add it to the ever-growing list of things no one has answers to."

Stefan rolled his eyes at Damon's dramatics. "I'm really sorry that it won't be of any help with your diabolical plan, the sequel." Damon smirked at him and Stefan realized that this was his chance. "You know, I could help you."

Damon scoffed. "You? Help me? Aw, I don't know. Seems a little unnatural."

"I'll do anything to get you out of this town, even release Katherine," Stefan lied, shrugging his shoulders. He had learned first hand that no one deserved a fate that involved Katherine Pierce in it. He wasn't about to let Damon release her. "If she's even in there."

"We don't want to go around believing a dirty little liar, now do we?" Damon said snarkily. "Victoria can keep her false beliefs and shove them up hers, if you know what I mean."

Stefan let out a large sigh, shaking his head. He had been trying desperately for days to get Elena and Damon, on separate accounts, to understand Victoria's plight and why they needed to chill out. Elena was slowly coming around; she understood that she had exploded ("over-the-top, never should have happened but I did let it happen and now I feel so bad but I don't know how to approach her and say I'm sorry" exploded, if Stefan were to quote Elena's words word-for-word) on Victoria, and that if there was anyone to talk about her adoption with, it would be Victoria. Elena had been straight adopted by her parents ("from my bio mom's womb to their home", another word-for-word quote that Stefan had picked up when Elena had called him with the news); Victoria had been abandoned on the side of the road before Kelly had found her and adopted her.

Meanwhile, Damon didn't want to forgive Victoria; or at least that was what it appeared like to Stefan. Damon was just content with being an asshole to her, forgetting everything that they had been through in the past few months.

"Oh, did I hurt your feelings?" Damon said in reply to Stefan's sigh.

"Victoria is our friend, Damon, as much as it pains me to include you into that sentence," Stefan explained. Damon rolled his eyes. "You've taken this anger thing way too far."

"Katherine is in that church, Stefan!" Damon growled, slamming their father's journal down onto the desk. He leapt to his feet and stalked around just so he could jab a finger at his brother's chest. "We watched them load her into that carriage like she was a swine they were taking to the butchers!"

"We saw the carriage, Damon," Stefan retorted. "The carriage and the list of the deceased. Rationally speaking, it's completely plausible that Katherine managed to escape. You seriously think a bunch of humans could have stopped her?"

"Then where has she been, Stefan?" Damon demanded, throwing his arms out to either side. "Why hasn't she shown up?"

"I don't know, Damon," Stefan shot back. "It's not like I can go around asking vampires where Katherine Pierce is. If she is alive, then it's obvious she never wanted to be found. Not by you or your little Mama Bear -"

Stefan let out a strangled gasp as he was slammed into the wall of the library, Damon's hand wrapped tightly around his throat. Damon's eyes were blood-red and his fangs were down and he was physically hissing in rage. In a tight, tense, hoarse whisper, he growled, "Don't you dare say that name."

"Now is this rage from your hatred towards Tori...or your possessiveness?" Stefan hissed, wincing as Damon's grip tightened even farther. "Do you even feel guilty over how you reacted to her when she was only trying to save you heartache?"

Damon dropped his hold on Stefan and took a step back, his vampire features falling back to his normal, human appearance. His face went blank and he said, in a steel-toned voice, "What are you doing? Hmm? What's your angle?"

"I want you gone, and I want my friends kept safe," Stefan shot back, rubbing his throat. He hoped that his healing process would heal any bruises before he had to go pick up Elena. It wouldn't do good to look like he had just been choked out when accompanying Elena to a high school dance. "Think about it."

"What about the other twenty-six vampires?"

"No, no, no. They can't come. They have to stay put, but Katherine...I would consider that."

"Why would I trust you?" Damon snarled, his blank face dropping into an unpleased frown.

"See, that's your problem, Damon," grunted Stefan, coughing to clear his throat. "You apply all of your shortcomings to everybody else. If history's any indication, there's only one liar among us."

Before Stefan could say anymore to Damon, Stefan's phone began to ring. He gave Damon one last hard look before he fished his phone out of his pocket. The caller I.D. said that it was Kelly LeBlanc. Odd. The two of them had exchanged numbers way back when, when Victoria had disappeared for a week with Vicki. It was solely for the purpose of sending updates on their progress while searching for their friend and daughter respectively. But Kelly had never called him or texted him since then.

"Hey, Kelly. Is something wrong?" Stefan asked into the phone once he had accepted the call.

There was a little bit of silence on the phone for a second, then a timid voice whispered, "Hi, Stefan."

Stefan's eyes widened. "Victoria. Are you okay? Is everything alright? Why are you calling on Kelly's phone?"

"I'm fine," Victoria replied shortly. "And my phone is dead, remember? Kelly can't get me a new one until tomorrow, so she's letting me borrow her phone for the night. She got a new pre-paid one for herself that she's using in the meantime. Listen, I'm just calling you to tell you that you should head over to Elena's early. She's going to need the presence of a vampire she can trust soon."

"Is something bad going to happen to her?" Stefan demanded as he began to stride towards the door, already brainstorming how fast it would take him to finish getting ready.

"It's not great, but it's not fatal, or even all that harmful. Just...stressful. She needs you sooner than later."

"Got it. On my way. Thanks, Tori."

"No problem. Oh, and we seriously need to talk about why you and my mom have each other's phone numbers. I'll see you at the dance tonight."

Almost the moment that Victoria had hung up with Stefan, Kelly's phone started to ring crazy. Caroline's number popped up, including the nickname "Daughter #2". Victoria had to smile at that. That was cute. She accepted the call and snickered, "Kelly's phone, but this is Victoria LeBlanc. Please leave a message at the beep."

"Don't you dare beep at me," Caroline warned her, sounding super serious. Victoria giggled lightly. "I'm serious, Tori. I need some major BFF help right now."

"Fire away, Care-Bear," Victoria told her, adjusting her stance in the mirror. "I might sound weird because I'm putting the final touches of my makeup on." She was already fully-dressed, with suede dark blue heels that matched the dress eerily well. Kelly had them just hanging around, apparently. Her black gloves were sitting off to the side; she would put them on went she wasn't busy fixing her face. Take it from someone who knew: makeup always stain black.

"Okay, so first off, you were really absentminded today at school. Is everything alright?"

"Just stressed with school," Victoria admitted, though that was not the only reason. "I'm really far behind because of all the crap that's happened to me this school year and it's weighing down on my mind constantly. I'm good other than that."

"So, wanna tell me where you were at lunch today?"

"One of the empty classrooms, with Mrs. Richards' permission," Victoria explained to her friend, grabbing her mascara. She nimbly unwound the wand from the tube and brought it up slowly to her eye. "Apparently, I have another dance due by the end of the semester. I was busy busting out the kinks. She told me she wants it to be a solo. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing."

"Which means you're just stressed and you're doing just fine," Caroline translated, and Victoria rolled her eyes before quickly swabbing some mascara on her eyelashes. She grinned as she looked at her reflection. Yes, now her blue-gray eyes really popped! "Okay, well, since you were absent from lunch, I sat with Elena and it was weird."

"Weird how?"

"Well, first off, she got me this necklace. Like, it's really pretty. Really pretty. Prettier than the weird necklace that belonged to Bonnie's ancestor kind of pretty. It literally matches with everything. I'm wearing it tonight as a little pop of modern with the past."

"Ooooh, a lesbian friend necklace?" Victoria teased, laughing at Caroline's gasp.

"That's exactly what I said! And no, obviously. You're the only one I would even consider sharing lesbian friend necklaces with, and I hate to break your heart, but I like one gender and you're not in that particular club."

"I'm crushed," Victoria deadpanned, snickering.

"As I thought," Caroline mused, giggling. "Well then, she started to ask about me and Matt and that she was okay with whatever relationship we were starting to form."

"You guys are forming a relationship?" Victoria asked, pretending to be puzzled. Of course she knew that Caroline and Matt were slowly becoming a thing. They were supposed to have their first kiss that night after the dance. "I've obviously missed a lot."

"You've been seriously MIA recently, which we will address tomorrow, but that's not important right now," Caroline told her. "So yeah, I told her that Matt and I have been hanging out more and more recently, and that I feel as though we've peaked as friends, but Matt's obviously not over her, so there's no way we can move on to the next stage. It's just been one big complicated mess."

"Sounds like it," Victoria hummed sympathetically.

"Any wise relationship advice from the eternally single person?"

Victoria rolled her eyes as she dragged her lipstick to reapply another coat of the glossy red. "I can second that Matt's still hung up on Elena. But I can tell you that he really does care about you. So, I think you just need to bust out that Caroline Forbes charm and show him that he should forget about Elena and remember that you are a true queen."

She swiped her next layer of lipstick on as Caroline announced, "Well, he's not coming to the dance tonight. Apparently he's bussing tables tonight at the Grill. He just got a job and everything. So, I guess I'll stick around the dance for a little bit and then go see him. It's taken me two whole hours to get this hair right. The least I can do is spend half of that time at the dance."

"That's the spirit, Care-Bear," Victoria laughed.

"Can I ask you a probably super personal question?"

"When's that ever stopped you before?"

"Good point. Did you get into a fight with Elena? I've noticed that you have been avoiding her at school."

Victoria let out a large sigh. She delayed speaking to Caroline by carefully putting the lid back onto her lipstick and setting it on the other side of her sink. When she couldn't delay any longer, she admitted tentatively, "We got into a big fight the other night about family drama."

"How big of a fight are we talking about?"

"Well, the beginning started with her accusing me and then it rose to her tackling me to the ground and me slapping her so she'd get off of me."

There was silence on the other line. Caroline was never silent. Victoria pulled the phone away for a moment to see if she had accidently hung up. No...and she hadn't accidently muted the call. She pulled the phone back to her ear and said, "Um...hello? You still there, Care-Bear?"

"She what?" If Elena's voice from that night had been rage, then Caroline's voice was hellfire. Victoria had never heard anything so deadly, and she was constantly surrounded by men and women who could either kill her with a glance or could snap her neck before she could finish blinking. "What the hell, Tori?"

"U-Um...you okay, Care?"

"No, I am not okay, Victoria!" Caroline raged. "You're just telling me that Elena tackled you to the ground because you two got into a disagreement! How am I supposed to feel about that? Happy? No! She hurt my best friend! Doesn't she realize that you're hurting just as much as she is?"

"Care..."

"No, Victoria Khalida LeBlanc, you get to stay there, shut up, and listen."

Victoria's jaw shut up with an audible click and she stood there awkwardly as she listened to Caroline.

"Since you were in a traumatic car accident in which you died and then were revived and put into a coma for four months, only waking up a week before school started, you have had to deal with amnesia where you couldn't remember anything about yourself or your mother, Tyler sending you to the hospital with a single punch, getting choked out by some creep not once, but twice!, whatever the hell that Damon drama is all about, going missing for a week, Vicki mysteriously disappearing, and then whatever the hell happened with Logan. What has Elena had to deal with? The loss of her parents but being taken care of by her awesome aunt, her little brother recovering from his previous drug addiction, and getting a super awesome boyfriend," Caroline ranted. Victoria could imagine her friend pacing back and forth, her processing units overheating as the verbal word-vomit continued. "Now, of course I would never say that her parents' deaths is something that can be easily pushed aside. My mom's distant, but I can't imagine what it would be like if she was gone permanently. But I remember her parents. Her mother would never allow her to behave like this. Elena would have gotten her ass whooped. I don't care if it's 'just the grief talking'. Grief can shut the hell up."

And that was without all the supernatural stuff added in, Victoria thought weakly to herself. She waited for a moment to see if Caroline was going to continue before she asked tentatively, "You good?"

"Yes. I'm done."

"Are you going to bitch-slap Elena like you did Stefan after he ditched me for my Halloween dance?" Victoria asked, partially curious and partially worried.

Caroline let out an annoyed sigh. "As much as I would like that, probably not. That sounds a little over-the-top. I'll just settle for some good old silent treatment. But if she gives you anymore trouble, then you tell me immediately. I will set the record straight."

"Care, I don't want you to ruin your friendship with Elena just because the two of us got into a fight," Victoria tried to protest.

Caroline was not having any of it. "Gals before pals, Tori. I've got your back because I know you got mine. Elena can take her self-centered ideals and shove them up her -"

"- Aaaaand I think that's enough drama talk for one night," Victoria cut her off, laughing. She smiled softly as she looked into the mirror. Her smile fell when she couldn't see her own reflection and instead, spotted a familiar friend sitting in the shower She had a bored expression on her face. Victoria licked her lips and added, "I got to finish getting ready, but I'll see you tonight, alright? You are my date after all."

"Because we're both so lame that we can't get dates."

"You are not lame, Care-Bear," Victoria retorted gently. "I'll see you later. Bye!"

She hung up the phone and set it down on the countertop, looking back up into the mirror with a frown on her face. "Seriously? You're going to show up now?"

"I'm bored," Vicki admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "Talking to you is one of the only fun things there is to do."

"You are in my mind," Victoria shot back as she began to clean up the makeup on her counters. "Doesn't that mean we're both going crazy if we're talking to each other?"

"Normal's overrated," Vicki answered, sitting up a little straighter. "Are you excited for the Decade's Dance?"

"You're in my mind. You know the answer."

"Yeah, but that just makes for weird conversation. Come on! Pretend that I'm like an annoying little sister who just wants to know all the juicy details of her big sis' night!"

"Well, you do have that vibe right," Victoria grunted as she put her makeup away. She stood up and slipped on her black gloves. Once they were on, she started to pat down her dress, making sure there weren't any random wrinkles in it. It gave Victoria a minute to think to herself. After doing everything she could think of to waste time, she let out a little sigh of defeat and answered Vicki, "I would be more excited about this dance if I didn't just get into a bad argument with two of my friends who will be at said dance tonight. It's just going to make the whole situation awkward instead of fun. And then there's the fact that Elena's going to be attacked by Noah tonight, both at her house and the school. Hopefully Stefan got there early enough."

"As much as we hate the way Stefan dotes on Elena, he's got her covered," Vicki told Victoria, rising to her feet with a groan and a stretch. "I don't think we ever have to worry about her safety and happiness. I'd be more concerned about us. Do you know how much you get injured?"

"Caroline literally just finished telling me how much."

"Well that was without the supernatural things, as you noted," Vicki expanded. "Seriously, we are like a magnet for -"

She cut herself off when Victoria heard a loud crash come from outside. Victoria and Vicki both tensed up, and they made hesitant eye contact through the mirror. It sounded like it had come from the backyard, the backyard that Victoria hadn't had the chance to really explore.

"That couldn't be who I think it is," Victoria whispered, her mind whirling.

"Noble's much quieter than that," Vicki added, glancing worriedly towards the door. "He would have come into the house. But it couldn't be Noah. He should be running to the school. There's no feasible reason why he might be at the house."

"Where did Lee, Lexi, and Zach say they were going to be tonight?"

"Lee and Lexi are going on a date since you assured them you would be fine with Stefan and Damon at the dance. Zach's already at the dance, helping set up as a chaperone," Vicki listed off, her eyes never leaving the door.

"So basically, unless Noble is here, which I doubt because he's been low-key MIA for a few nights, hiding in the house or the bushes outside, we have no ally vampires close by," Victoria stated, glancing towards Vicki for confirmation. Vicki nodded once. "Fantastic. Well, if it's just Kelly, then we're overreacting and we'll be fine, although it'd be weird that she'd be home so early from her meeting with her advisor. And if it's Noah for some stupid reason, we should be okay. He hasn't been invited in so as long as we stay in the house, we'll be..."

Victoria trailed off when she heard a quiet creak come from downstairs. She knew that creak. It was the floorboards right beside their dining room table. Kelly had lamented about it for the last two weeks, wanting to fix it but never having enough time to do so. Since there was only two of them, they used the kitchen's island as a table for the most part. Victoria didn't think she had ever eaten at that table since the moment she arrived in Mystic Falls. But she knew that noise. And she knew that Kelly always walked around that board. Even if she couldn't see where she was going because her arms were filled with laundry, she would always avoid that step.

"They're in the house," Vicki whispered, her voice low and filled with the tiniest hint of fear. "Victoria..."

Victoria reached out and grabbed Kelly's phone before trying to open her bathroom door as quietly as she could. She had to grab her necklace from Noble. It was sitting on her bedside table, waiting for her to put it on. Her anklet was already on, wrapped tightly around her ankle. The necklace was the only kind of weapon that she had. There was nothing in her room that would double as a stake.

Victoria moved quickly, but as quietly as she could manage. She snatched the necklace up into her hand, wincing as it made a slight scraping noise. She ducked back into the bathroom. Victoria shut the door and back away, moving to the far wall. She held tightly to her necklace in one hand and clicked through Kelly's contacts. There had to be someone. There just had to be...

Damon Salvatore.

"Why does Kelly have Damon Salvatore's number in her phone?" Vicki screeched, her image barely visible in the mirror. She was looking towards Victoria through the mirror, though, so she must have somehow spotted the contact list.

Victoria just shrugged helplessly, but dialed the number. She turned the volume down as low as it could go and prayed that it would be quiet enough.

There was a click as Damon's annoyed voice filled the phone, "I don't have your number, so whoever you are, you can just hang up right now. I don't have the patience to talk to you -"

"- Damon," Victoria whispered, so light and breathy that she barely made any noise.

There was a grunt on the other line and Damon's voice returned, low and filled with anger, "I don't want to talk to you, Victoria. I'm already headed to Elena's house because Ms. McJudgey was apparently attacked, so I'm going to hang up and that'll be that -"

"- There's someone in my house," Victoria interrupted him. Her heart began to pound as fear of the situation started to settle in. "I-I don't know who it is, but I think it's the vampire that attacked Elena."

It was like a flip had switched in Damon's voice, and what was once filled with rage and anger was now filled with concern, "What? Where are you right now?"

"In my bathroom," Victoria continued, her hand beginning to ache from how tightly she was holding onto her necklace. "Kelly went out tonight to her college to have a meeting with her advisor. S-She wouldn't be back by now unless there was a terrible problem."

There was another loud creak. This one was also familiar to Victoria and she sucked in a sharp breath. That was the stair creak. Forth step up from the bottom. If you stepped in just the wrong place, it made this creak that echoed throughout the entire house. Victoria had discovered that once when she had gone to get a midnight snack and Kelly tried jumping her with a baseball bat, thinking she was an intruder.

Baseball bat.

"I think he's coming up the stairs," Victoria whispered to Damon. "B-But there's a baseball bat in my mom's room under her bed. Wooden. If I can get there..."

"Victoria, listen to me. It's too dangerous. Don't do it. Now, I want you to remain calm. The faster your heart pumps, the more a vampire will be enthralled by the chase. Don't let yourself bleed, no matter what. Your blood will only excite him. Your house is in between the boarding house and Elena's place. I'll be there in less than thirty seconds, so just sit tight and wait for me, alright?"

"Okay," Victoria replied. Damon fell silent on his end, but Victoria didn't hang up the phone. She didn't want to be alone with just herself and the Vicki in her mind and whoever else was on the other side of that door.

Then, all of a sudden, the quiet air of the house was pierced by the sound of whistling. If Victoria wasn't in a stressful situation, she would have figured that the whistling was pretty good. On pitch, in tempo. All around, pretty swell. But she was in a stressful situation, wondering if she was going to have to fight off a vampire using only one vervained necklace. And the song that the vampire was singing was creepy too. The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.

"We did not sign up for horror-level shit when we died and came back!" Vicki hissed, shaking her head. From Victoria's angle, it looked like she was pressed tightly against the wall of the shower. Why she was hiding, Victoria didn't know. It wasn't like she could be injured; she was just in Victoria's head. "Damon better be Speed Racer, because right now, we need a demon on wheels."

"Oh girlie."

Victoria clapped her hand against her mouth, preventing a gasp from coming out of her mouth. It was Noah. Victoria knew that voice. Which led to a multitude of questions:

1. How the hell did he get into her house? Did he come over and manage to dupe Kelly while Victoria was out?

2. Why was he coming after her? Stefan should have scared Noah off and away from their whole neighborhood, let alone just Elena's house. He should be at the dance, waiting and stalking Elena. Which brought up another point: he wasn't stalking Victoria. If he was, he wasn't making any effort to speak with her. What was so important about her?

"I can hear your heart pumping, girlie," Noah's voice growled. His voice came out distorted, travelling through the various walls and closed doors. He was still in the hallway outside of her room. That much she could tell. "It's like a little rabbit's. Pumping harder and harder until it will eventually give out completely."

"Alright, I am full-on panicking!" Vicki hissed towards Victoria.

Victoria brought her hand away from her mouth and glared towards the mirror-reflection of Vicki. She mouthed, as to not make any noise, "You are not even real! Stop freaking out!"

"I can't!" Vicki retorted, obvious panic falling into her words.

"And what is that delicious smell I can taste in the air, hmm?" Noah drawled. Victoria heard a creak come from right outside her bathroom door and her blood turned cold. He was in her bedroom. Oh hell no, he was in her bedroom! "It's certainly not human food. Could it be the scent of your blood, perhaps?"

"Where the freaking hell is Noble when you need him?" Vicki screeched, her volume much louder compared to Noah's creepy quiet.

"Now, I think I've worked your heart hard enough, girlie," Noah whispered. Victoria's eyes widened in fear as the doorknob to her bathroom door started to twist. "But all things must come to an end."

The doorknob suddenly stopped twisted and there was a thump, followed by loud groans. A pounding of footsteps, out of her room, down the stairs (still managing to hit that one creaky step) and the sound of her front door swinging open filled the night air. Victoria could barely breathe. What had happened? Was that Damon? Noble? Somebody else that wanted to do the job more than Noah?

The doorknob started to move once more and the door flung open.

Damon.

Damon stood in the doorway, a bloodied wooden baseball bat in his hands. His lips were converted into a concerned frown, and his shoulders dropped in what Victoria believed was relief when he spotted her cowering against the far end of her bathroom.

Before Victoria could even think about what she was doing, she was up on her feet, rushing Damon. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in tightly for a hug. He didn't fight it; he simply dropped the baseball bat, which made a loud banging noise against the tile, and wrapped his arms tight around her waist. He rested his cheek on the crown of her head, letting out a breathy sigh. Something about that motion set Victoria off and she started to babble incoherently, "He just appeared out of nowhere and I have no idea how he got into the house and he must have talked to Kelly somehow and oh my gosh, what if he had tried to hurt Kelly, but then you arrived and stopped him and I'm so sorry for everything that I said to you and I wish -"

"- Mama Bear, calm down," Damon cooed, squeezing her tighter. He moved his hand up her spine and he rested his hand on the nape of her neck. His thumb rubbed back and forth, and the continuous motion allowed Victoria to lock onto it. She centered her breathing around each tick of his thumb and surprisingly, it did allow her to calm down more. "You're alright. You did good. You did everything right."

"I'm sorry...about everything. I-I should have told you before you found out like you did."

"I know."

"I-Is that Kelly's bat?"

"I parked my car a block away and ran around the back. I scaled the wall and entered through her bedroom. Found the bat exactly where you said it would be. Figured it would be easier to get a drop on that freak that way."

"Y-You called me Mama Bear. I thought you were pissed off at me." Hell, she was pissed off at herself for multiple reasons.

"Right now, I'm too busy thinking about wrapping you up in bubble wrap so you'll stop getting into dangerous situations to be mad at you. We'll return to our normal schedule program tomorrow," Damon admitted. He drew his head back, not letting her go from his arms, and looked straight into her eyes. "We need to go to Elena's."

Victoria nodded her head in confirmation and stepped out of Damon's arms. He didn't let her go too far, however. He grabbed her hand in his and her head shot up, locking eyes with Damon in confusion. Every day with him was like a whirlwind of emotions. He shrugged and stated, "At this point, I think you could get badly injured from a papercut. I'm not letting you out of my sights. We'll discuss a gameplan more at McJudgey's house."

A/N: WE HAVE HIT 300 REVIEWS! CELEBRATE! WHOO WHOO! That is so crazy! There are more reviews on this story than there are for my next two highest stories (Solace's Wings and One Itsy-Bitsy Spiderling) combined! This is so amazing. Thank you everyone!

This chapter turned out to be more filler than anything else, so apologies for that. We'll get the dance and the big plot point next chapter, don't you worry!

So, let it be known to the readers of Immortalis: I have heard your pleas. Enough of you have requested that I please give Victoria a break (too much trauma can break a person, I admit), so here's a couple of things I'll be doing:

1. I have officially changed one of the genres of this story to be Angst, just so everyone's aware of how much of a ride they're in for if they decide to read this story.

2. I have decided to cut out a MAJOR traumatic plot point from my storyboarding. It causes a couple of hitches in some minor story arcs, but you guys were right. Victoria does need a break. Granted, I would like you all to keep in mind that this plot point wasn't going to come until close to the finale of Season 1, so any traumatic moments between now and then are still going to resume in their usual schedule programming.

3. I won't lie to y'all: this entire story will feature a lot of Victoria whump, angst, and hurt/comfort. You'll learn more about that next chapter. It is vital to Victoria's character arc and the story in general. There will even be some chapters that will have to include trigger warnings because it can get extreme (not sexually, keep in mind. There will be no non-con or sexual assault in this story, so never worry that you might see that pop up. The farthest we will ever get will be like Logan's scene).

I will warn you all: these next three chapters will be EXTREMELY TRAUMATIC (NOT RAPE. I REPEAT, THE TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE IS NOT RAPE). I've thought about postponing this specific event until later in the season or series to allow for Tori to have more a break, but this is the best point I've found that works with all of my other plans. I swear, fluff will come, we just need to get through this next part! This is one of those "Trust the Process" moments.

THE SHIPPING WARS! (feel free to keep on voting (you can vote for more than one ship!); 1 full point for if you choose one ship, two half points for two separate ships, more than 2, smaller decimals. Anything that is not a full point will be italicized. This will not decide the final pairing; I already know who Victoria will end up with, I just want you all to be able to guess):

ROMANTIC:

Team Stetoria {Victoria/Stefan} (15.5): insert name here XD, sammyleann's dad, TikiKiki, Maistryia, Don't-Say-It-Feel-It, another guest, Elyse1821, Lime, herewegoagain, K, Yukihino-Sama, emma, just another guest, BookwormStrawberry, heyyeah, Guest (3), guest4ithinklol, Guest (6), Guest (9), guest (1), theappleseed

Team Datoria {Victoria/Damon} (20.5): Sciave, Guest, ArganRose, CrystalAris, Marine76, Assenavira, CarlaPA, Guest (1), Maistryia, emma, just another guest, Freeshavacahdoh, Guest (3), Guest (4), Guest (6), sabrinaannpierson, Guest (7), Guest (8), Guest (9), guest (1), hfgfgfrdr, lillen20, Yolo, theappleseed, Guest (10), Juko

Team Vilijah {Victoria/Elijah} (22.5): guest, Guest, SoraLover987142, insert name here XD, sammyleann, Orange keys 25, LoyalElijahFangirl, Hinata Megumi, A. G Herz, Aryabloodlust, ferallahey, AngelColdHeart, BlueDragibus, dreamwalkerlisa, Guest, Stachelbeere, Guest (1), jocillyria, Guest (2), BookwormStrawberry, Ieviheichu, Teghan-Potter1370, karenc0r, Hachiko33200

Team Klatoria {Victoria/Klaus} (5): Tayla141, TikiKiki, Guest (9), Mythology216 the Beard King, thisIsNotATest, Guest (10)

Team Koltoria {Victoria/Kol} (2): DreamerPop, MelissaMorningstar

PLATONIC:

Vinn {Victoria/Finn) (.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25

Varcel {Victoria/Marcel) (1.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25, jocillyria

Zinn {Zach/Finn} (.9): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25, karenc0r

Jol {Jenna/Kol} (1.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Lime, Orange keys 25, karenc0r

Kelas {Silas/Kelly L.} (.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25

Koltoria {Victoria/Kol} (.2): Orange keys 25

Kennett {Kol/Bonnie} (.5): Lime

Autoria {Aurora/Victoria} (1.2): LoyalElijahFangirl, hfgfgfrdr

Vonnie {Victoria/Bonnie} (1): bpopa7110

Vibekah {Victoria/Rebekah} (1): BookwormStrawberry

New Followers!: damonkakashi

New Favoriters!: kigriffin29

Onto reviews (there's a lot)!:

Yukihino-Sama: Hey you! I feel like that would be true too; like, if Victoria had all of her memories and was a Seer and somehow knew of this information, Elena still would have been chaotic. I may have made her reaction a little too extreme, but I'm not quite sure. No Lexi and Lee yet. I'll have them make a confrontation with Elena in the chapter after this next one (so Ch35). I can't answer all of your questions just yet, but please keep them all in your mind. You are so close to hitting the nail right on the head and it's so exciting to watch!

DBZFAN45: Thank you! I'm glad Damon's reaction seemed authentic. Oh my gosh, I totally didn't connect those two dots. Yeah, the Tori Protection Squad (aka Lee, Lexi, and Zach) totally would have been nonexistent without Tori there. I can't wait until the second half of Season 1 too! It'll be exciting! Okay. So Victoria is around the 5'6" to 5'7" height. There are never stories about girls who are super tall (or taller than average, cuz the weird average is like 5'3" or 5'4"), so yeah, Tori's a tall queen. My face-cast for Kelly isn't actually on Bridgerton, funny enough! I chose Renee Elise Goldsbury, who played Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton on Broadway and Wickie in Girls5eva, the TV show. Team Datoria did make up a little quick, I admit, but it's vital for the plot and it's to show that Damon does really care about Victoria even when he's pissed off at her. Thanks for the fic recommendations! I need to start making a list. 3rd Amendment!: Yeah, I feel like it is a bit over the top as a reaction, but given that Elena's already had some rumbling dislike towards Victoria for numerous things (remember she did blame Victoria once for her parents' deaths), I figured it was just the pot bubbling over. I was going to make Noah physically attack her in this episode, but y'all do make a fair point so I spared Victoria that much.

Guest: Ooooh! A girls' day with Bonnie, Kelly, Caroline, Victoria sounds like a blast. I'll also add Carol and Lexi to the list, since they're chill too. Totally going to add that to the story sometime. In defense for Elena, does she really know what's happened to Victoria? Victoria hasn't told pretty much anyone but the Salvatore Brothers (and maybe Zach) what happened with her and Vicki at the logging mills (all of it, at least) and Elena wasn't there for the whole Logan debacle. It seems to me that Elena has this image of Victoria as someone who lives a perfect life with no imperfections. She doesn't acknowledge what's really happened to her. Victoria will be getting some breaks soon, I promise. Fluff will come! You must hold out! Happy 2022!

silentmayhem: Oh my gosh! Are you alright? I hope you're feeling better. I'm glad this story could really help you with numb out the pain. Awww thanks! I really like dropping Easter Eggs. They're fun. Okay, onto the hypothesis!: 1. That...actually makes a lot of sense. A few plot points wouldn't add up though if it was Piero, mostly how romantic and touchy-feely Noble is (Piero, that would be your great-great-something granddaughter. A little too weird). I can reveal that Noble is not Piero, but Piero will be making an appearance to the story! I really like his character (and I haven't even introduced him physically). 2. Duuuuuuude...I can't reveal anything because I want it all to be a surprise but you are soooo freaking close to the truth with this point. Crazy scary close. 3. We'll find out in just a few short chapters! I believe the accurate count is in Ch36 or Ch37. Lee and Lexi will be giving Elena an official reality check in Ch35, but until then, here's Caroline ranting in anger! And you're right. That is very accurate and I will try to make the story a little bit more than just Tori in trauma. Fluff will be coming soon, I swear XD. We just gotta make it through the next few chapters. Happy new year!

Lime: Oh my gosh XD. Klaus and Tyler would just be angrily arguing with each other and Jeremy would be in the corner like "Elena, come pick me up, I'm scared." I've mentioned this to somebody else, but we all need to stop and think, "How much of Victoria's traumatic experiences does Elena know about?". Victoria hasn't told her about her week with Vicki, nor was she around when Victoria was kidnapped by Logan. I'm glad the little shared glance between Lexi and Zach was well-received! I really like that moment too, so yay! I think the Tori Protection Squad changes, but after this chapter, I would say it's composed of the following: Zach, Lee, Lexi, Stefan, Damon, Kelly, Caroline, and Carol. Even if Carol, Kelly, and Caroline aren't knowledgeable about the supernatural just yet, they're definitely still on that list. And thank you for defending Tori. It can get a little disheartening when people write those negative reviews (like seriously? When I read something in a story I don't like, I just stop reading the story XD. I don't have the energy to review negatively). So again, thank you! Happy 2022, Limabean!

brachelle80: I love that phrase: "just a whiny selfish witch not a good witch a witch with a B instead of a W". My personal favorite way to say it is "a bumblebee with an itch". Again, Elena Blinders. They're a serious condition. Doctors might have to surgically remove them from their eyes.

theappleseed: Thank you!

Stachelbeere: It's been a while! Oh my gosh, magicalunicornprincess XD. Lee must be totally confused because no one's told him about her being knowledgeable about the future or her coming from another universe where they're all a TV show character. He's probably sitting there going "What the heck is happening right now? Oh, who cares? Protect Tori!". Thank you for the pacing tip! This chapter is a little bit of a break (probably not a great one, but eh? What can you do?). I do need to add more filler chapters to really just settle down the feeling of angst all the time. Mhmm, you're totally right. Are you a musician? (I ask as someone who does theater and knows all about music and that statement just seems like something a musician or theater kid would say). Thank you!

grapejuice101: You were our 300th reviewer! Thank you so much! I was about 3/4ths of the way done with this chapter when I got your review, so no POV about the fallout in this chapter. I'll try and add it more in the next chapter, sort-of like one of them having a flashback to the night, you know? (probably will be Stefan).

edwardsgirl21: Seems to be a popular consensus after the last chapter. I'm sure multiple characters in this story would low-key agree with you. I won't reveal who just yet ;).

Thank you all guys! The next chapter is a bit of a doozy, so I won't hold my breath for Friday. If it gets done by then, happy surprise! I start theater up again and we have our first rehearsals this weekend, so we'll have to see how I can fit in writing to my schedule.

Happy 1st Chapter Update of 2022!

BecomingFearless1F